Yonhy Lescano Ancieta (born 15 February 1959) is a
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
vian lawyer and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
belonging to the
Popular Action party. He was a
Congressman between 2001 until the
dissolution of the Congress by
Martín Vizcarra
Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo (; born 22 March 1963) is a Peruvian engineer and politician who served as President of Peru from 2018 to 2020. Vizcarra previously served as Governor of the Department of Moquegua (2011–2014), First Vice P ...
in 2019. From 2009 to 2011, he served as the
Popular Action party's national secretary-general. He was the Popular Action's presidential nominee in the
2021 general election and placed fifth in an atomized race of 18 nominees.
Education
From 1976 to 1980, Yonhy Lescano studied law at the
Catholic University of Santa María
The Catholic University of Santa María (UCSM) ( es, Universidad Católica de Santa María) is a local private University in Arequipa, Peru, and has been in continuous operation since it was founded on 6 December 1961. It was founded by William Da ...
in Arequipa. From 1984 to 2001, he worked as an independent lawyer in his own town in
Puno
Puno (Aymara and qu, Punu) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was establish ...
. Additionally, he was a professor, lecturing law at the
National University of the Altiplano (UNA) in Puno, from 1985 to 2001.
Political career
In the
2000 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2000.
Africa
* 2000 Ethiopian general election
* 2000 Ghanaian presidential election
* 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election
* 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election
* 2000 Ivorian preside ...
, he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in Congress under
Luis Castañeda's
National Solidarity.
Congressman
In the
2001 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2001.
Africa
* 2001 Beninese presidential election
* 2001 Cape Verdean parliamentary election
* 2001 Cape Verdean presidential election
* 2001 Chadian presidential election
* 2001 Gabonese legislative ...
, he was elected as
Congressman to represent the
Puno Region
Puno () is a department and region in southeastern Peru. It is the fifth largest department in Peru, after Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It is bordered by Bolivia on the east, the departments of Madre de Dios on the north, Cusco ...
, on the list of the centrist
Popular Action. He was re-elected in the
2006 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2006.
* Elections in 2006
* Electoral calendar 2006
* 2006 Acehnese regional election
* 2006 American Samoan legislative election
* 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election
* 2006 Costa Rican president ...
, on the joint
Center Front
The Centre Front (Spanish: ''Frente de Centro,'' FC), was a Peruvian political coalition formed by the parties Acción Popular (AP), Somos Perú (PDSP) and Coordinadora Nacional de Independientes (CNI) for the 2006 national election. Its leade ...
coalition list which grouped the AP,
We Are Peru
In Modern English, ''we'' is a plural, first-person pronoun.
Morphology
In Standard Modern English, ''we'' has six distinct shapes for five word forms:
* ''we'': the nominative (subjective) form
* ''us'' and ': the accusative (objective; ...
and the
National Coordinators of Independents, and in the
2011 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2011.
* Local electoral calendar 2011
* National electoral calendar 2011
* 2011 United Nations Security Council election
Africa
* 2011 Beninese presidential election
* 2011 Beninese parliamentary ...
on the list of the
Possible Peru Alliance list, this time for the constituency of
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
, and in the
2016 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 2016.
Africa
Benin Republic
* 2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016
Cape Verde
* 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016
Chad
* 2016 Chadian presidential election 1 ...
for a final term, leaving office in 2019 in aftermath of the
dissolution of the Congress by
Martín Vizcarra
Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo (; born 22 March 1963) is a Peruvian engineer and politician who served as President of Peru from 2018 to 2020. Vizcarra previously served as Governor of the Department of Moquegua (2011–2014), First Vice P ...
. Lescano was one of the Congressmen who were in favor of the dissolution. In 2018, he disagreed with the final report of the Lava Jato Commission, chaired by
Rosa Bartra (known for having politically shielded
Alan García
Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez (; 23 May 1949 – 17 April 2019) was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the Peruvian Apris ...
and not including him in the document), Lescano argued that the report could not be trusted, in as the members of the commission's board of directors "were judge and party," members of APRA and Fuerza Popular, whose leaders were under investigation in the Lava Jato case.
Party politics
He was the Popular Action party's General Secretary between 2009 and 2011.
Candidate for President of Peru
For the
2021 general election, Lescano won the presidential nomination of his party for the Presidency of Peru after defeating former Congressman
Edmundo del Águila and
Luis Enrique Gálvez with 63.67% of the vote. His running mates were Gisela Tipe and Alberto Velarde. He was one of the frontrunners in the Presidential Race. On Sunday, March 21, Lescano attended, along with 4 other candidates, a live debate held by América Televisión and Canal N. In one of his participations, the candidate engaged in a discussion with
Verónika Mendoza
Verónika Fanny Mendoza Frisch (born 9 December 1980) is a Peruvian-French psychologist, educator, and politician. She is the founder and current leader of the New Peru movement.
Born in Cuzco to a Peruvian father and French mother, Mendoz ...
, to whom he said that the political alliance to which he belongs has
Yehude Simon
Yehude Simon Munaro (born 18 July 1947) is a Peruvian politician, who served as Governor of the Lambayeque Region between 2003 and 2008, Prime Minister between 2008 and 2009 and as a Congressman from Lambayeque between 2011 and 2016, elected un ...
in its ranks, accused of corruption. Mendoza replied that this character had been separated from the party: "We do separate the bad elements, not like you who cannot separate Mr. Merino, usurper and coup plotter, against whom the young people mobilized last November." Live conducted by
América Televisión
América Televisión is a Peruvian television network, founded in 1958. The network is owned by Plural TV, which is a joint venture of the '' El Comercio'' and ''La República'' daily newspapers. It was the second television channel to be fou ...
on the night of the debate, the candidate Lescano was in third place with 21%, surpassed by Mendoza (34%) and Forsyth (22%).
During his visit to Tacna, Lescano affirmed that he would ask Chile to return Monitor Huascar if he was elected president. After these words, the Chilean mayor Henry Campos responded saying that "The Huascar of our coasts does not move."
In the aftermath of
Vizcarra's removal in November 2020, Lescano was a strong critic of
Manuel Merino
Manuel Arturo Merino de Lama (born 20 August 1961) is a Peruvian politician who briefly served as President of Peru for six days between 10 and 15 November 2020. He also served as the President of Congress from 16 March 2020 to 15 November 20 ...
's ascension to the presidency. He disavowed Vizcarra's removal and Merino's role, siding with
Cajamarca
Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...
Governor
Mesías Guevara in not approving his party's congressional caucus' decision.
Ultimately, Lescano placing fifth in an atomized race of 18 nominees.
Ideology and views
Lescano has been described as having a
center-left
Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ce ...
populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
political position that is
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
in social aspects while being
progressive economically.
Regarding the economy, Lescano has proposed introducing a
social market economy
The social market economy (SOME; german: soziale Marktwirtschaft), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system alon ...
system to Peru, stating "You must respect the private initiative but have a regulatory state that prevents abuses". He has made statements opposed to large mining companies within Peru and suggested the
nationalization of resources in the nation.
He opposed several times to the decisions of his party, as when Congress was dissolved in 2019, he supported Martín Vizcarra's measure and did not attend to the inauguration of Vice President
Mercedes Araoz. His party was politically affected after Vizcarra's impeachment and the sudden rise to power of party member
Manuel Merino
Manuel Arturo Merino de Lama (born 20 August 1961) is a Peruvian politician who briefly served as President of Peru for six days between 10 and 15 November 2020. He also served as the President of Congress from 16 March 2020 to 15 November 20 ...
, who held the position only for five days and promptly resigning after the a
series of protests.
Personal life
While studying in Chile, he met fellow lawyer Patricia Contador Durán and the two married, later having three children.
Controversies
After his complaint against former congressman
Mauricio Mulder, in March 2019 Lescano was denounced by a journalist for sexual harassment due to WhatsApp chats. In his defense, the congressman presented an international expert opinion which indicated that the images used for the complaint had been maliciously edited with the Photoshop program. However, on April 3, the plenary session of Congress suspended him for 120 days in accordance with the recommendation of the Ethics Commission.
His sister Vasty, was sentenced to 16 years in prison after being accused of belonging to the
Shining Path
The Shining Path ( es, Sendero Luminoso), officially the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a communist guerrilla group in Peru following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the group as the Commun ...
terrorist organization. In the book Handwritten, autobiography written by Abimael Guzmán, prison leader of the terrorist group, there is thanks to Lescano for his "worthy services".
External links
Official Congressional Site (2006-2011 term)Resume on the National Jury of Elections (JNE) site
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lescano, Yonhy
Living people
1959 births
Popular Action (Peru) politicians
Members of the Congress of the Republic of Peru
20th-century Peruvian lawyers
Catholic University of Santa María alumni
Candidates for President of Peru
University of Chile alumni
Center Front politicians
People from Puno Region
National Solidarity Party (Peru) politicians
Academic staff of Universidad Nacional del Altiplano de Puno